I am an author, speaker, business strategist, and consultant for clients ranging up to the Fortune 100. During a 33-year career I have started seven businesses—six were successful and one not. In 2010 I published the book "Indispensable By Monday" (Wiley & Sons), and am now working on a second book, "Making Intrapreneurs."
I am founder and CEO of By Monday, Inc., an intrapreneurship and employee engagement consulting firm near Salt Lake City, and enjoy lecturing and researching at BYU as an adjunct professor in the Entrepreneur Center. Having served as the president of VitalSmarts for nine years and earned an MBA, I teach a unique mix of the “soft” and “hard” skills needed in business today. Our clients’ bottom-line success is imperative, but we get there by engaging and supporting people. lmyler@bymonday.com

Four Common Chasms On The Path To Success - And How To Cross Them

Are you trying to start a business, get a promotion, become healthier, earn an advanced degree, or repair a relationship? No matter what you want to achieve, if you’re like most of us you will find yourself getting stuck somewhere along the way. What can we learn from Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs who overcome these challenges every day?

Human accomplishment (or failure) depends on how well we deal with a small number of hurdles that we all encounter on a regular basis. When we get stuck, it’s usually because we are stopped at one of these impasses. To get unstuck and make continuous progress toward your objective, learn how to cross these four common chasms.

1. Leap from “Can’t” to “Can.” Successful people are driven by the belief they can accomplish their goals, but that’s not to say that they have always possessed that confidence. This is the first chasm to cross on the way to success, and those who make it from one side to the other don’t get there magically. The belief that something can’t be done will end your journey before it begins unless you stop and evaluate the basis of that debilitating view, and find a remedy. That’s what entrepreneurs do. For example, if you don’t have the skills or knowledge necessary to get something done, that is a legitimate reason why you can’t do it. To cross over to the other side and continue toward your goal, you’ll need to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Other barriers are less obvious and more insidious, such as the shame-based (and false) conviction that you’re not worthy of success, or a belief that you’re somehow a fraud who is faking the role you play at work and will soon be found out (AKA imposter syndrome). Whatever the reason for believing you can’t achieve your goal, identify and neutralize it. The transition from can’t to can is very much a leap of faith, evidenced by an increase in confidence.

2. Fly from “Won’t” to “Will.” When you know you can, it’s time to decide that you will. In other words, it’s time to commit, and your strongest commitments will be to the things that matter most, or are most important, to you. What do you value? The better question is, what are your values? Have you identified your non-negotiable rules for how you will operate your life? Have you adopted them as your behavioral standard, or code of conduct? Sustainable, unshakable commitment comes from alignment with values that are indelibly etched in your heart. Determine your values (Honesty? Service? Hard work? Joy?), and they will become both filter and anchor for your commitments. Your values can act like a helicopter, quickly flying you from one side of the won’t/will chasm to the other.

Business Case: Mohan Nair, Senior VP and Chief Innovation Officer at Cambia Health Solutions, has perfected the art of building an “I will” culture of commitment through the adoption of values. Mohan and his team, Innovation Force, have engaged a large population within Cambia, known as Igniters, to launch three businesses in three years, and generate over 600 new innovation proposals. Cambia’s values (Accountability, Commitment, Trust, Teamwork, Leadership, Innovation, Nonprofit, AgilityAgility) may be very different from yours, but they have been the catalyst for (and a good example of) creating commitment to innovation in the workplace.

3. Jump from “Doing nothing” to “Doing something.” Belief and commitment are crucial but insufficient means to accomplish a worthy goal. Eventually, you must do something, and take the all-important first step that will move you in the right direction. Action is a key component of accomplishment, so why do so many of us fail to act, even after establishing belief in and commitment to the achievement of a goal? It’s all about momentum. The state of doing nothing is devoid of momentum. A goal at rest tends to stay at rest until acted upon, and a goal in motion tends to pick up more momentum…(apologies to Newtonians for the rough paraphrasing). This can be a wider chasm than you might think. Imagine trying to jump across without getting a running start. That’s what it feels like to have no momentum. You can gain momentum leading up to the jump by doing something (anything!), no matter how small or insignificant, to get your speed up. When crawling gives way to walking, then jogging, and then running—you’ll feel much better about jumping over. And you’ll hit the ground running with no small amount of adrenalin to get you moving even faster. In the words of sales expert John Boyd, “Momentum begets momentum.”

4. Surge past “I quit” to “I did it!” It is all too common for people to give up, give out, or give in, somewhere between starting and finishing. This chasm may not be wide or ominous, but it doesn’t have to be formidable to stop us. That’s because the “I quit” obstacle always appears just when we’re out of money, energy, gas or gumption. At our weakest, even a small barrier can make us feel as though giving up is inescapable, justified, and even preferable. But entrepreneurs don’t quit. Instead they view running low on a necessary resource as just another problem to be solved, which is no big deal because they are adept at solving problems. A well-timed solution creates a surge of enabling energy that can propel even the most beleaguered across the finish line. The bad news: Problems will incessantly appear in your path. The good news: Every problem has a solution. (Watch for a future article on problem solving).

Chasm-crossing is quintessential entrepreneurial behavior.Life is full of internal and external factors that keep us from the outcomes we seek both professionally and personally.Applying the confidence, commitment, action, and persistence of entrepreneurs to everyday challenges can have a dramatic impact on your quality of life. The grass is always greener on the other side…of the chasm.

As an adjunct professor in the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at BYU, Larry Myler lectures and conducts research on the topics of entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, and employee engagement. Contact Larry at lmyler@bymonday.com.

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